Content Media secures Target agreement

Content has not acquired Target’s business or its assets but will work exclusively with administrators BDO to offer producers distribution, subject to their consent.

The transition is being handled by Vicky Ryan, Content’s director of sales and contracts administration, and producers looking to work with the distributor have been invited to contact her.

Target went into administration at the end of February, just 18 months after being bought by Metrodome, after failing to find a new buyer for it and subsidiary Minotaur International.

The distributor represented nearly 4,000 hours of scripted, factual and kids’ content including Fifi and the Flowertots [pictured], reality show Tool Academy and Most Haunted.

It is understood that a large proportion of producers would have had a clause in their contract that would see rights revert back to them in the case of administration.

But those not covered by this have been in contact with BDO to ascertain the future of their rights and distribution.

Shay Bannon, BDO business restructuring partner, said: “We are pleased to be able to report some positive news having reached an exclusive agreement with Content to provide a solution enabling distribution of programmes and other content to be transitioned to Content.

“We are continuing to work to maximise recoveries in the administration for all creditors.”

The move has come less than two weeks before MipTV, the international sales event in Cannes.

Greg Phillips, president of Content Television, said: “We are well known to many of [Target’s] producers and look forward to the opportunity to introduce our experienced distribution capabilities to many others. 

“Our role is to help producers transition the ongoing distribution from [Target] to Content as quickly and efficiently as possible and to then look to maximise the ongoing cash flow from that distribution. 

“If we can achieve consent quickly we should be able to start this process at the forthcoming MipTV market and during the sales follow up to that market.”

Content is headquartered in London but also has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto.

It’s library comprises more than 3,400 hours of drama, TV movies, miniseries, kids, factual entertainment and documentary. Recent key titles have included BBC dramas United and the forthcoming Line of Duty, both made by World Productions.

Other divisions include Content Film and Content Digital. It also owns a minority stake in film distribution company Phase 4 Films and a majority stake in US fact ent firm Collins Avenue, producers of the Dance Moms franchise.

This story was originally published by Broadcast.